Plumber licence in Puerto Rico: apprentice, journeyman and master step by step

The law changed in 2022 and it still shows

Plumbing was regulated in Puerto Rico by Act No. 88 of 4 May 1939. That law lasted eighty years and fell short: a ninth grade, a plumbing course and the exam were enough to be certified.

Act 59-2022 replaced it and raised the bar. It created the Master and Journeyman Plumbers Examining Board and the Master and Journeyman Plumbers Association of Puerto Rico, and set new study and continuing-education requirements.

What matters for you: some official pages still cite the old law and some portal forms still ask for what the old law asked. Further down I point out the exact spot where that happens, so it does not catch you out.

Three grades: apprentice, journeyman and master

The plumbing apprentice gets a certificate, not a licence, and does not have to sit an exam for it.

The journeyman plumber is the first grade with a real licence and an exam. The master plumber is the top grade, the one who directs the work, signs off and supervises journeymen.

The ladder matters because each rung is a requirement for the next. You cannot jump from the course straight to master.

Apprentice: 16 and enrolled

The apprentice certificate needs three things: being at least sixteen, showing the Board you are enrolled in a plumbing course of at least three months at a school recognised and accredited by the Department of Education, and filing the application sworn before a notary.

A medical certificate stating you are in good condition to practise the trade goes with the application. There is no exam.

Note the detail: being enrolled is enough. You do not have to have finished the course to start working as an apprentice, and that lets you study and earn at the same time.

The apprentice certificate is good for one year and can be renewed once for another year, and to renew it you must show you are pursuing the journeyman exam. After that second year the certificate remains valid for one purpose only: qualifying you to apply for the journeyman exam.

Journeyman plumber: a 1,000-hour course

To apply for the journeyman plumber licence you need the apprentice certificate and to have completed the prescribed plumbing course.

The hours requirement is what changed under the new law: you must present certified proof of passing a plumbing course of at least a thousand study hours at a recognised or accredited institution. And the law adds something worth checking before enrolling anywhere: the course must be taught entirely by licensed master plumbers who are members of the association.

Students of legally recognised plumbing schools may be admitted to the exam on presenting the certificate the school issues.

For the exam application, the portal also asks for the breakdown of tasks by work unit bearing the institution's seal, and the sworn certification of the master plumber supervising you.

Master plumber: the years under a licensed master

For the master plumber licence you must be of age and have worked as a licensed journeyman plumber, under the direction of one or more licensed master plumbers who are association members and who certify it. If you worked with several, the certification is issued by the last one under whom you complete the time.

And here is the point where the new law and the portal do not say the same thing. Article 7 of Act 59-2022 asks for at least two years as a journeyman before the exam date. The PCS requirements page, as of today, still asks for certification of four years of practice as a journeyman plumber, which is what the earlier law required.

We are not going to invent which one applies to you: before counting your years, call PCS at 1-888-773-9266 or write to prplomeros@pcshq.com and ask which criterion they are applying. That is one phone call that could save you two years of waiting.

The master who certifies you does so under their professional responsibility, and if the certification turns out to be untrue, the Board can suspend or revoke their licence.

The exam has three parts, and one surprises people

The journeyman and master exams have at least three parts: a theoretical one, a practical one, and one on orthographic and isometric design.

That third part is the one that trips up people with excellent hands. It is technical drawing: reading and drafting the installation plan in orthographic projection and in isometric. If your course skimmed it, practise it separately before booking a date.

The Board must offer the exams at least twice a year, and the call goes out at least sixty days before the date. The Department of State processes each part separately: there is an application for the theory exam, one for the practical and one for the plan, for both journeyman and master.

The paperwork and the portal

Exams and licences are processed at pr.pcshq.com, the Professional Credential Services portal, the company the Auxiliary Secretariat of Examining Boards contracted for this. PCS answers at prplomeros@pcshq.com and 1-888-773-9266.

The Board does not accept photographed documents: everything is scanned as a PDF. The photo is separate, a recent 2x2 passport-style colour digital photo on a dark background, and only in JPEG, GIF or PNG.

For the master licence the portal asks for a copy of the journeyman licence, evidence of active association membership, the certification of supervised practice, and a copy of the results of all three exam parts. The master licence fee is sixty dollars.

Four years, 9 hours a year and the association

Journeyman and master licences last four years, and must be renewed sixty days before expiry. Note that it is sixty days, not thirty as at other boards.

To renew you must show two things: that you are an association member and that you are current on continuing education. The law requires no less than nine hours a year, and allows counting them flexibly as long as the four-year cycle adds up to the total.

The Association sends the Board, no later than 15 February each year, the list of those who completed the previous year's continuing education. If you are not on that list, you are not renewed.

If your licence was suspended for not being a member, you can reactivate it once you join.